


A Very Carrington Sunday

by mrsfallonridley



Category: Dynasty (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gun Safety, Married!Falliam, Mommy!Fallon, Parenthood, References to Depression, daddy!Liam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25491724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsfallonridley/pseuds/mrsfallonridley
Summary: After the arrival of Fallon and Liam's first child, Blake Carrington starts to host family lunch every sunday.
Relationships: Fallon Carrington & Liam Ridley, Fallon Carrington/Liam Ridley, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 64





	A Very Carrington Sunday

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: I had this idea after I watched the scene from Dynasty 3x10 where Cristal notices the gun missing from the wall and follows Alexis (ending in the pond fight). 
> 
> It's a lot of words that don't say a lot but I hope you make it to the end.
> 
> PS. I didn't feel like rereading it and editing it, so if you spot any errors just message me or something and I will fix it (I will probably edit it later but still).

Liam stepped in back into the large living room of the Manor after an important work phone call in the balcony and looked around the noisy, people-filled room in search of his wife. His eyes spotted Alexis refilling her champagne glass by the bar, Cristal giving some instructions to Mrs. Gunnerson by the long table already set for lunch, Sam probably scrolling through Instagram on the couch and Kirby and Adam chasing Eleanor so she would give them Kirby’s phone back. However, Fallon was nowhere to be found.

“Dad! Daddy! Help me!” his search for Fallon was quickly put to the end as he heard the tiny voice calling him. When he looked in sound’s direction, he noticed that Adam had caught Eleanor and turned her upside down while Kirby tickled her, hoping that she would loosen the grip on the phone tightly secured against her chest.

“Ellie…” he tried a deep serious tone when, in reality, he just wanted to laugh at the situation and how worked up, she had gotten Adam and Kirby over a phone. “Please, give Kirby her phone back.”

“He has to put me down first!” she protested, and Adam gently placed Eleanor back on her feet, both Kirby and Adam patiently waiting for Eleanor to hand them the phone. “Here.” She extended her hand to Kirby.

“Thank you, you little brat!”

“Kirby!” Liam said seriously as he watched Eleanor’s blood boiling. Sometimes when Eleanor interacted with Kirby and Adam, it was like they were all the same age. “Enough. Ellie, come here, please.” Liam squatted to get to the 4 years old height level and adjusted her light blue flowery dress. “No more stealing people’s phones, okay? That wasn’t very nice, and you need to apologize…”

“I’m bored!” a very familiar pout, inherited from her mother showed up on Eleanor’s face and it immediately made Liam’s heart beat faster. Eleanor was too creative, independent and active for her own good. Leaving her unentertained was the same as asking her to get into trouble and Liam should have known better. He took the large blue bow from her head and fixed her loosely curled hair with his fingers the best he could before putting the bow back in.

“What if I get you the big doll house from the toys’ room and put it here in the living room? Will you play nicely?” He suggested and watched his daughter frantically nod in response. “Pinky promise?” he stuck out his pinky and smiled as Ellie was quick to wrap her finger around his. Pinky promises are like binding contracts for the Ridleys, and even if Fallon had her doubts about its actual validity, she knew that, above all else, it was about preserving trust within their family, something she definitely agreed was important to teach their kids.

“Where is my favorite girl in the world?” Just as Liam was leaving to go get the big doll house from the toys’ room, another man’s deep voice echoed from the opposite hallway.

“Grandpa!” Ellie ran towards Blake who had just left his office after finally finishing the work he absolutely needed to get done so he could now be totally focused on enjoying his family.

“Oh!” He picked up Ellie and pulled her into a tight hug. “My little Ellie!” he placed a big kiss on her cheek. “Where are your mom and dad?” he looked around the room as he noticed both Fallon and Liam missing.

* * *

_“We are going, Fallon!” he said a bit louder than he wished he had, and immediately looked behind him where she was standing in front of their bedroom’s mirror._

_“No, we are not!” she looked away from the mirror and shouted back at him, matching his volume. “At least, I’m not! You do whatever you want to do!”_

_“You can’t spend every second of every day at the hospital, Fal…” Fallon turned around after she put on her high heels, a fully offended look on face, even more evident by the swelling from all the crying she had done that night. “I’m sorry… Fal.” Liam saw the tears forming again in her eyes. “I’m sorry.” He got closer to her and reached for her hand, taking it in hers and gently rubbing his thumb through the back of it. “What I mean is… Jack is being taken care of… and we will go over there and feed him and be with him, but he will be asleep most of the time after that, Fal.”_

_“I don’t care, Liam!” she pulled her hand away from him in rage. “I’m not going to some Sunday brunch while my son is in the hospital!” Fallon couldn’t even understand why he would suggest such a thing after how hard the last few weeks had been._

_“Fal, it would be good for you. All you have done is… being at the hospital and come home and cry in bed.” He said in a low but serious tone. Obviously, the time Jack had been in the NICU at also been hard for Liam. He wanted his son home above anything else, but he just couldn’t stand there and watch the blackhole Fallon was throwing herself into._

_Jack’s condition was stable now, and he was growing at a very good pace. Fallon could actually feed him now and his lungs and heart were getting stronger each day. Liam felt like they could finally breathe of relief, but Fallon was just as scared as the day Jack was born._

_“And it would be good for Ellie!” If anything was going to convince her, it was their daughter. “We have already missed two Sundays and… all this has been a lot for her too. It could be a good opportunity for you to spend some time with her. She misses you, Fallon. She misses her mom.”_

_“But Jack-…”_

_“We’ll go see Jack.” Liam got closer to her and softly cupped her face with both his hands. “The three of us, okay? We will go there and be with him, hold him, feed him, love on him for a while and then…” he paused, staring directly into her watery blue eyes. “We will leave him sleeping in peace so we can bring him home soon…” Liam’s lips met hers for a comfort peck. “You heard the doctor, Fal. If he keeps doing this good, he will be home really soon.”_

_“You know sundays at the Manor are supposed to be about family, and ours is not complete if he is not there…”_

_“Do you think it will make you feel any better if we just come home so you can stay in bed crying and angrily replying to emails?” Liam continued in his soft tone and continued to try to reason with her. “We will head over to the Manor and spend the afternoon with the family before we go back to check on Jack for the night, okay?” he watched her eyes close in defeat before opening again with a gentler hue to them._

_“I just don’t like leaving him alone there. It doesn’t feel right.”_

_“Yeah, I know. If it was up to you, we would have moved to the hospital.” He chuckled as they actually had had that conversation once Fallon was discharged from the hospital and had to leave Jack behind._

_“And just so we are clear, the only reason we are not living in that hospital suite is because we have Ellie!”_

_“I know, babe.” He pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. “We will bring him home soon and make up for all the lost time... Hold him as much as we want…” he sighed. “Don’t worry.”_

* * *

“Liam!” Blake called out excitedly as Liam returned with the doll house for Eleanor.

“Hey!” he replied back as he placed the toy by the big open windows so Eleanor could play while feeling the fresh breeze coming in from the balcony and into the living room.

“I was thinking we could take some time to talk about a few projects I have for Carrington Atlantic in New York… I just got out of the phone--”

“Oh, you know that stuff is all up to Fallon.” Blake was swiftly interrupted by Liam.

“Yeah, I know, but you are partners and I thought you could put in a good word for me. You know she always listen when you--”

“Blake. It’s Sunday, remember?” Liam cut him off again and reminded him of the occasion in which they were talking. “Let’s focus on what’s important.” He said as he looked down at the strawberry blonde girl sitting on the floor, already moving pieces around to set up the dollhouse how she wanted.

“Do you know where Fallon is?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Liam looked at the watch on his wrist before adding. “I think she might be upstairs with Jack. I will go check on them.”

* * *

_“Oh, hi…” Blake said really softly as he sat down on the edge of the hospital bed, trying to find the best angle to look at the small baby cuddled up against Fallon’s chest. “Hi… It’s grandpa Blake here.” He talked to the baby that didn’t even budge at his voice._

_“Did you wash your hands?” Fallon asked right away before he could even get any closer._

_“The first thing Liam told me to do.” Blake put both his hands in front of her and looked back at Liam for confirmation._

_“How are you doing?” Blake asked his daughter as she didn’t even take her eyes off her own daughter._

_“Great…” Fallon whispered. “Really great.”_

_“Do you think I can hold her?” Fallon looked up at Liam at the end of the bed and he could tell she really wanted to say no. It hadn’t even been 24 hours, and Fallon was enjoying the feeling and comforting smell of the sleeping baby on her chest too much to want to share it._

_“C’mon, Fal… Let Blake hold her for a while.” Fallon sighed and gently tried to move the baby without waking her up. Blake readily accepted the baby in his arms and looked down in awe at his first granddaughter. She was completely perfect: she had the cutest rosy chubby cheeks, long full lashes and the tiniest hands closed in tight fists._

_“Does she have a name?” Blake asked knowing that they had been holding off telling people the name they had picked until the baby’s birth but that they definitely had one._

_“She does.” Liam answered and waited for Fallon to continue._

_“Eleanor Morell Carrington Ridley” Fallon stated proudly as she couldn’t take her eyes off the baby sleeping in Blake’s arms. “But we will call her Ellie most of the time, I think.”_

_“Or Elle, we are still trying it out.” Liam added._

_“Ellie?” Blake looked up from the baby, his eyes noticeably wet even if he tried to hide it as much as he could, realizing what it meant. “I love that…”_

_“Yeah, me too…” Fallon and Blake stared at each other for a while and both their eyes said whatever needed to be said in that situation without needing to put it into words._

_“Well…” Blake tried to move forward before he got too emotional. “Hm… I was thinking… This week might be a bit too much for you, but I would love to have the three of you over for lunch next Sunday for family lunch.”_

_“You don’t have to, daddy.” Fallon had witnessed Blake’s multiple attempts to create family bonding time, only to ruin it or abandon it shortly after. She really didn’t feel like adding Sunday lunch with her brand-new baby to the list._

_“It would be a pleasure. I really want to do this differently.” He lightly bounced the baby sleeping in his arms after she cooed a little. “I want to do things differently as a grandfather to Ellie.” He placed a kiss on the top of the baby’s mostly hairless head._

_“Dad…” Fallon sighed. She had heard all this talk about doing better before and she wished she could believe it this time, but she just didn’t._

_“I mean it, Fallon. I want to make this a tradition with you. I will be hosting lunch every Sunday for the family, mostly for Ellie, and it would mean a lot to me if you showed up.”_

_“We… we will try.” Liam said as he held one of Fallon’s hands._

_“We just want Ellie to have a normal family experience, and we all know that what happens at the Manor not always falls under that category.” Fallon explained as she looked between the two men, both sitting on opposite sides of the hospital bed._

_“I just really want to be involved in my granddaughter life.” Blake said as he gently run his finger through the only little golden curl in Eleanor’s head, making the baby purse her lips and emit some more cooing noises. “I’m not getting any younger and I just want some quality time with my family. Yes, we can all be a bit crazy sometimes, but… she is a Carrington.” He looked Fallon in the eyes. He wasn’t going to say it, but he was extremely proud of the woman Fallon had become despite everything that had happened over the years. “She is tough. I’m sure she can handle the occasional craziness. Can’t you?” he smiled at the baby that wrapped her little hand tightly around his index finger, melting Blake’s heart; the tears that were threatening to escape his eyes, finally rolling down his cheeks. “My little Ellie.”_

* * *

“There she is!” Liam pointed to the bottom of the staircase Fallon just had come down from, skillfully holding the 6-month-old with just one arm against her body while on her 5 inches heels.

“Shhh!” Fallon nodded to the baby resting his head on her shoulder.

“Is he sleeping?” Liam was confused. He had no idea why Fallon hadn’t left him sleeping in his room upstairs.

“Yeah. I was called for lunch. Is it ready?”

“Why did you bring him?” he frowned.

“Do you want to see what happens when I put him down?” Fallon rolled her eyes and started to walk away, Liam following quickly behind.

“Let me try! I will put him to bed.”

“Liam.” She paused and turned to him. “I don’t want to hear him screaming for the next 30 minutes. He is teething, he is clingy, let it go… I’m not asking you to hold him.”

* * *

_Liam entered silently through the familiar doors of her old bedroom. It remained intact. Still in time since the day she moved out. He stopped immediately when he noticed Fallon was fast asleep while sitting against the sea of pillows in the bed, with Jack attached to her chest._

_Liam approached them as quietly as he could as to not disturb them and realized the baby was drifting off to sleep while he nursed as he usually does; his hand tangled in the necklace Fallon was wearing._

_“Fal…” he whispered close to her ear. “Babe…” he kissed her forehead and watched her eyes flutter open._

_“Did I fall asleep?” she woke up startled, immediately looking down at the baby._

_“Yeah, you did.”_

_“Oh, Jack.” Fallon tickled the bottom of his tiny bare feet to make sure he stayed awake to finish eating. He was naturally still really small, and Fallon and Liam noticed, a couple days after bringing Jack home, that he would fall asleep very early on into his feedings, leaving him without eating as much as he needed. “A few more minutes and mom will let you sleep… Now you got to eat…”_

_“He seems pretty done, Fal. Don’t force it.” Liam sat beside Fallon in bed. “You have been up here for a while, I bet he ate enough even during your cat nap.”_

_“Well, we don’t know that.” Fallon replied nervously; stressed by the whole situation. She just wanted to make sure she was doing a good job. It had been a week since Jack had officially left the NICU and had come home. Fallon thought that having him home would bring her some peace, but instead, she was more nervous than ever. “I’m so tired, and… ugh… How do I know if he ate enough?”_

_“Well. He looks like he really wants to sleep right now.” He said as the baby yawned once again. “We brought a bottle, and you can always try to feed him again a bit later. Sleeping also helps him grow, you know.” Fallon looked at Liam and his heart sank at the restlessness he saw in her._

_“Yeah… I will let him sleep for a while…”_

_“I know you are not really happy about the idea of taking him downstairs into a living room full of people…” Liam started. It was Jack’s first Carrington Sunday and Fallon had been hiding out with him in her old bedroom pretty much since they arrived. “I get it, Fal. He is fragile and I don’t really want other people touching him either.” Liam admitted. “I really didn’t want to wake you up, if I’m being honest. You were so peacefully asleep, but lunch is almost ready and although I fully support you taking an afternoon nap after, I really think **you** should eat first…” Fallon yawned and looked down at Jack who was already fast asleep. “And… I already warned the family that we aren’t exactly comfortable with passing him around,” Liam held Fallon’s hand as he explained. “But… I also told them we would take the basinet downstairs, set it in the living room and let everyone take a look at him.”_

_“Oh, why can’t I see them following the rules? Watch my mom hold him 5 seconds after we told them not to.”_

_“Ellie said she would make sure everyone followed the rules. She really wants to show off her brother… and it would be a nice, subtle way to introduce him to the Carrington Sundays. You said it yourself… Sundays lunches are all about family and ours is not complete without you and Jack.” Liam kissed Fallon before grabbing the light blue blanket with the Jack’s monogram embroidered in it and wrapping it around him, lifting the baby into his own arms as he continued to sleep. “Let’s go…”_

* * *

“Liam, could you get her plate?” Fallon asked as she bounced the whiny and half-asleep 6-month-old in her arms. Jack teething for the last few days had been a nightmare for all the Ridleys who were all sleepless, annoyed and beyond tired.

“Sure. Ellie, come sit down, please.” Liam asked his daughter, who was dancing around the table as everyone was starting to take to their seats. Hers was at the head of the table opposite to Blake. He had picked that place at the table for his granddaughter as early as she could sit with them and nothing made him happier than to look across the full table to see Eleanor happily as the center of attention during lunch time.

“C’mon, time to eat, Ellie!” Blake said, stopping her twirls and pointing Eleanor to her seat.

“You are not gonna eat while holding him, are you?” Liam asked as he pulled out the chair for Fallon since she was struggling to do so while holding Jack.

“He fell asleep on me after I fed him, you know he will wake up if I put him down, right? What do you want me to do? I don’t want to ruin lunch for everyone.” she explained, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“And you know why that is?” he picked up Ellie’s plate and paused. “Because you always let him fall asleep on you! If he wasn’t always attached to you that wouldn’t be such a problem now!”

“Please, let’s not start again…” she said as she nodded to the table full of people, indirectly asking him not to make a scene. Liam reminded himself that Sunday lunches were supposed to be stress free and of union, no matter what drama they had going on, so he took a deep breath and resumed his task of making Ellie’s plate.

“Here, honey. Time to eat.” Liam put the plate down and watched her start eating right away before he even had time to sit down next to Fallon.

“I honestly don’t understand why you don’t bring a nanny with you.” Alexis said from the other end of the table, next to Blake.

“Sometimes I wonder that too.” Fallon rolled her eyes as she replied sarcastically.

“Do you want me to prepare your plate for you?” Liam asked as Fallon gently adjusted the baby in her arms, already sore from his weight.

“Yes. Thank you…”

“Ellie, baby, grandpa has a present for you after lunch!” Blake announced from across the table and Eleanor’s eyes lit up in excitement.

“What did you get her this time?” Fallon asked as she had not been warned about any sort of present nor given her approval.

“Here.” Liam placed the plate he had prepared in front of her and met her lips for a quick peck, their very own form of raising a white flag after any sort of friction between them.

“Actually, I got the present. It’s pretty cool!” Adam said proudly. “You’ll love it, Ellie!”

“Great. I’m not worried at all.” Fallon said, her sarcastic attitude getting the best of her again.

“You have nothing to worry about, Fallon. I have seen it and approved it.” Sam ensured. “As a very responsible godfather, I can tell you, you’ll like the present as well! Might even want it for yourself!” he teased.

“Do you know what it is?” she whispered to Liam next to her and he just shook his head, apparently as clueless as she was.

“I picked it actually.” Kirby turned to Ellie. “It was supposed to be for me, but your grandpa just had to get it for you!”

“Yeah, I bought it from Adam at a very good price. When I saw it, I knew it was meant to be Ellie’s!”

“What is it? What is it?” she jumped excitedly in her seat.

“Are we the only ones that don’t know what this mysterious present is?” Liam asked looking between Fallon and the rest of the table.

“Yes, I have seen it too! This morning, actually!” Alexis joined the mix.

“Grandpa will show you after lunch, ok?” he promised Ellie who grinned brightly over all that gift brouhaha. “So, eat all your food!”

“Fallon, I heard you are going back to work tomorrow.” Sam said, noticing she had barely even touched her food, which was probably hard to do anyways since she only had one free arm.

“Are you excited to go back?” Alexis added.

“Yes.”

“You don’t sound too excited.” Blake pointed out.

“Yes, I am, okay? I’m _very_ excited! That’s what you wanted to hear?” she sounded a lot harsher than planned, leaving everyone at the table silent for a few seconds. The truth was that she was not excited to go back to work at all, especially since Jack hadn’t been feeling all that well lately. “I’m sorry, baby…” she looked down as the baby was woken up by her aggressive answer. “I’m just tired!” she sighed anticipating Jack’s meltdown, as he woke up and probably would become aware of his sore gums very soon. Fallon dropped the fork on the plate and gently caressed Jack’s face, hoping to soothe him. “Jack is teething, and I was up all night with him. It’s not the best timing, okay?”

“Fallon, honey.” Alexis started out carefully knowing that with her temper, Fallon was like a ticking bomb. She also knew Fallon didn’t like it when people opinionated on her parenting, but she decided to continue anyway. “I know you are all about being a hands-on mother, and I totally understand that, but now that you are gonna start working full time again, you really should get a night nurse to deal with that kind of stuff or you will wear yourself out.”

“She has help, Alexis,” Liam started angrier than he had anticipated. “and she could have slept more if she actually let someone else help take care of Jack!” He looked at Fallon, who thought they had agreed to put their earlier fight to rest. “So… I’m afraid the night nurse wouldn’t change the situation... Fallon would probably just wake up and take over as well!” Fallon’s clinginess to Jack had been the source of many of their fights ever since he had been born. Fallon was extremely overprotective with Jack and Liam could see why that was, but it didn’t make it hurt any less when Fallon pushed him away from their son.

“Guys…” Kirby said in a warning tone as she realized Eleanor had stopped eating and was now totally focused in the grown-up’s discussion.

“Ellie, do you want to come with me and pick some ice cream for dessert?” Sam asked and held out his hand for her to take, throwing judgmental looks at Fallon and Liam.

“What’s going on between you two?” Blake asked roughly but as low as he could so Eleanor wouldn’t hear it from the kitchen. “Whatever it is, figure it out!” Blake said a bit louder than he intended to. “Not in front of the baby!”

“It’s nothing. I’m sorry.” Liam sighed.

“Didn’t sound like nothing…” Adam pointed out.

“Will you mind your own business?” Fallon replied angrily and it was enough to set Jack off, making him start crying again. “Great.”

“We are just really tired,” he explained as he watched Fallon struggle to calm the screaming baby. “and Fallon is having a hard time letting anyone help with Jack. That’s all. He is always attached to her these days and it’s frustrating when I really want to be there for them.” Liam tried to say as calmly as possible.

“You know what?” Fallon was tired of hearing the same thing from Liam over and over, now mixed with Jack’s loud crying. “Here you have your son! Take him. Have fun! I’m gonna get myself some ice cream too!” she plunked the baby in Liam’s arms and left in the kitchen’s direction without any other word and at a fast pace before Jack’s screams had a chance to get to her and make her turn around.

“It’s okay, baby. Dad got you.” Jack pushed himself up on Liam’s arms and cried even harder as he watched Fallon leave. Liam got up and bounced him in his arms, placing small kisses on his cheeks to calm him down. “Could you please bring the highchair, please?” he asked one of the maids passing by the dining room. “And one cold peach from the fridge too. Pealed, please.” He added, knowing that the Carringtons really enjoyed their peaches and would most certainly have some in their fridge. He then searched the big diaper bag they took with them everywhere and took out some of the teething toys. “Here, buddy… Chew away.” He placed a kiss on the baby’s head and rubbed his back in soft soothing circles.

Moments after, Fallon, Sam and Eleanor returned from the kitchen with one big bowl of ice cream each. Fallon tried to avoid eye contact with Jack as he had already reduced his crying to a mere whining, and she didn’t want to make it worse again.

“Thank you.” Liam said as the highchair was brought to one of the table’s corners, next to his seat on the table, between him and Eleanor. “C’mon, bud.” He put Jack in the highchair and in addition to his teething toys, added some cut pieces of the cold peach to the tray. “That’s right, baby. Dad is perfectly capable of taking care of you.” He looked directly at Fallon who was still visibly mad at him. “The cold peach will help with your little gums.”

“Look at my boy!” Blake said proudly as the baby picked up some of the peach and shoved it in his mouth, munching on it, the coldness of it easing his pain. “Getting so big!”

“You know you are not doing this alone, don’t you?” Liam whispered to Fallon who was on the verge of tears, seeing how Liam was right. She had been pushing Liam away for no good reason. It made her very emotional to see of how well Jack actually did when she wasn’t hovering over him constantly. “Jack is a strong, healthy baby, Fallon.” He paused and took her hand. Deep down, he knew how this had started and he blamed himself for letting it get this far. “He is growing up as well as Eleanor did, and you have to realize he is no longer that baby in the NICU.”

“I feel like I haven’t been able to not worry about him ever since he was born…” Fallon whispered in admission to Liam. He knew. She hadn’t been enjoying motherhood like she should have been, and Liam just didn’t know what to do about it. “I know he is fine now, but I just can’t help it.”

“I know you two have a beautiful bond, Fal, I do, but… it’s time you give him the same freedom to grow that we gave Ellie.” He held her chin up and placed a kiss on her lips, followed by multiple ones on her cheek. “You are going back to work, and go back to do what you love to do… You have a company to run, Fal, and you need to know that Jack is gonna be okay while you are gone. I know you don’t trust a lot of people to take care of him, but… you have to trust me.” Liam said and Fallon realized right away what he meant.

“Are you-…?”

“I’m staying home with him until you feel comfortable with getting him a nanny or enrolling in some daycare program.” he whispered, and Fallon felt tears rolling down her cheek. “You have to trust me because there isn’t anyone else that loves this boy as much as you besides me… And I will even take him to visit you at the office as much as you want.”

“Thank you, Liam…” she wrapped her arms around him, not caring if they had just had that entire conversation in front of the whole family.

“Can I come too?” They heard Eleanor’s little voice, and both cracked up laughing at her little intrusion.

“Of course, baby. Dad will take you too.”

“I’m done eating. Can I be excused from the table?” Eleanor asked her parents as they had been teaching her to do lately.

“Grandpa and Cristal are our hosts. You have to ask grandpa or Cristal if you can leave the table.” Liam explained.

“Grandpa!” she shouted from one end of the end to the other.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“May I be excused?”

“Yes, you may!” Liam watched Eleanor happily hop off the table and head back to the doll house in the corner of the Carrington’s living room.

* * *

“Where is Ellie?” Fallon asked, the concern in her voice being noticed by everyone.

“Playing with the dollhouse?” Liam replied while cleaning Jack’s face and sticky hands with some baby wipes.

“No, she is not.” She stated slowly trying to keep calm as she looked across the open area on the Manor’s main floor and didn’t see Eleanor anywhere. “I knew it was too quiet for too long.” Eleanor could be mischievous, and she was always a bright presence in every room, making it noticeably when she was missing. “Does anyone have her?” Fallon asked loudly so all the family could hear her. She looked around and every single one of them was there except for Eleanor.

“I’m gonna check in the kitchen.” Anders said, knowing that Eleanor was famous for trying to sneak candy after lunch.

“It’s okay, the house is big, Fal.” Liam picked up Jack and put his free arm on Fallon’s lower back pulling her closer to him.

“Exactly.” Fallon turned to Liam, realizing just how much he was trying to stay calm for the both of them. “God knows how much trouble she could be getting into. You know how she is, Liam…”

“She never wanders off by herself in the manor.” Kirby pointed out, as she is usually the one Ellie bugs to go with her whenever she wants to go somewhere outside the open area of the Manor’s main floor, the area approved by her parents.

“Yeah, she didn’t even mention to Kirby _wanting_ to go somewhere.” Adam completed. “She is just probably just trying to mess with us again…” he rolled his eyes as he was Eleanor’s favorite ‘victim’.

“Yeah, it’s okay, I’m sure she just went to the kitchen to beg for more dessert.” Sam brushed it off.

“She is not in the kitchen.” Anders stated immediately after, making Fallon’s heart race immediately. “I even searched the cabinets.”

“You were her age and you walked freely through the house, Fallon.” Blake said, trying to convince Fallon, but also himself, that it was okay that they couldn’t find the 4-year-old. “She will show up here soon.”

“Ellie!” Fallon screamed through the hallways and up the stairs. “Eleanor!” she tried again but nothing was heard back. Liam was starting to freak out as well. “This is not a game, Eleanor Ridley!”

“Fal, babe, calm down!” Liam held her hand as Fallon kept opening the hallway’s cabinets and doors. “She probably… She probably went to the playroom!” he suggested.

“I can go look!” Sam volunteered right away.

“I’m going!” Fallon didn’t waste one more second and Liam decided it was better just to follow her.

“Please hold him, Sam.” He placed Jack in Sam’s arms. “For the love of God, don’t leave him anywhere or with anyone else. Fallon would kill me.” He shouted as he ran down the hallway after Fallon “And you!”

“She is not here.” Fallon stated as she looked across the room full of toys and then right at Liam.

“Ellie!” He called out.

“Liam. She is not here.” Her heart sank, tears of desperation forming in her eyes. Fallon left the room before she would start crying and Liam just followed her once again.

“She wasn’t in the playroom?” Alexis asked, now getting worried herself.

“I swear. She is going to be grounded until she is 30 when she shows up!” Fallon said to herself on verge of tears.

“No. I don’t know where-,” Liam tried to come up with an explanation but there really wasn’t any. He was doing his best to stay calm, but he was starting to get emotional about the situation as well. He just wanted to find Eleanor quickly and safe.

“The pool. Oh my god, the pool. Oh my…” Fallon ran towards the large living room windows and into the balcony where she could oversee the pool where Liam had once almost drowned.

The flashbacks from the past haunting her, as all she could picture was her baby girl under water. Eleanor knew how to swim, and they had even done a baby water safety class with her because of their own pool, but that didn’t stop Fallon from imagining the very worst in that moment.

However, as the whole family got to the balcony and looked down at the pool, there was no sign of Eleanor there either.

“We will find her.” Liam held Fallon’s hand as they were both starting to see the world around them spinning.

“I don’t know, but I think she should call security. This house does have a history of kidnappings.” Adam pointed out. “She wouldn’t be the first child to disappear…”

“Anders!” Fallon yelled not noticing the old butler just a few feet away from her.

“Why did you say that?” Kirby hit Adam’s arm for suggesting such a thing.

“Fallon, she was not kidnapped!” Blake said trying to avoid the panic.

“I don’t care! Anders, call security!” Fallon yelled once again. “I want them alert and watching all the exits of the Manor and the grounds! Nobody comes in, nobody leaves until I have my daughter!” she said sternly on the verge of tears.

“A mother does feel these kind of things…” Alexis sighed as she took one of her hands to her chest. “I know I did…”

“Fal, Fallon.” Liam called her and tried to make eye contact with her, but her eyes were too busy inspecting the grand Carrington outdoors area.

“Where is Jack?” Fallon asked, panting in desperation as her other baby was also out of her sight.

“Here. Don’t worry, I won’t let go of him!” Sam assured while holding the very confused baby close to him and trying to shield him as must as he could so he wouldn’t freak out on him.

“Sam, you stay here with Jack and in case Ellie comes back!” Liam said, already detailing a search plan. “Security will handle the limits of the property, Fallon, you stay with me.”

“C’mon, Ellie was not kidnapped. She is probably wandering around the house, or she fell asleep somewhere.” Blake insisted. “Nobody took her!”

“You don’t know that! You either help looking for her or get out of my way!”

“Ellie is a very curious child.” Alexis started. “Maybe she just went to look for the present Blake promised her…”

“The horse! The stable!” Blake said.

“Yeah, maybe she heard me mention the horse!” Kirby exclaimed. “I did tell Adam I still wanted one! She could have heard that!”

“What horse?” Liam asked confused.

“The present! I got her a horse!” Blake clarified and Fallon and Liam didn’t even have time, or were in the mind frame, to protest.

“It’s worth checking the stables!” Liam looked at Fallon in a glimpse of hope.

“I will go with you.” Fallon told him as she squeezed his hand tighter and they started walking in the stables’ direction.

“I will look by the lake!” Adam yelled and left to go look by the lake.

“Sam, don’t leave my baby!” Fallon yelled back into the balcony where Sam was with Jack.

“Anders, have everyone search the house!” Blake said seriously. Reality setting in as he let go of the denial phase. “Nobody gets a minute of rest until my granddaughter is found!” he yelled so all the staff heard it and he watched as people moved in all different directions to look for Ellie. “If she is not found in 10 minutes, I’m calling the police…” he told Anders quietly, already dreading to relive the anxiety and suffering that they felt when Adam went missing as a baby.

Suddenly, all of them are stopped in their tracks as the deafening sound of a shotgun is heard in the distance. Leaving them immobile trying to figure out exactly where the shot had been fired from.

“ELLIE!” Fallon and Liam glanced between each other and ran as fast as they could to the door that lead into the lower level of the manor.

* * *

_As she usually did every Sunday afternoon, Eleanor went to the big pantry in the Carrington kitchen looking for candy that she knew her grandfather always kept on stock for his middle of the night sweet tooth. However, this time, before she even made it to the pantry, Eleanor noticed dusty footprints on the floor that seemed to come from a door she had never, in her whole life, seen the other side of._

_She tried to open the door and was pleased to see that it opened without a problem. Immediately, she saw stairs going down. Her adventurous spirit guided her through the stairs and into a wooden hallway with multiple closed doors on each side._

_The first door Eleanor opened led her into a room filled with bottles which she wasn’t particularly interested in. A few doors over, she opened another door to a room where a lot of painting and art décor were stored. However, she wasn’t really interested in it either._

_Wanting to just call it a day and head back upstairs to look for the candy, since nothing interesting seemed to be behind any of the doors, Eleanor decided to try a door from the opposite wall before giving up._

_Luckily, it seemed that this one had better content. Her eyes travelled around the room and examined all the different objects that looked straight out of movies. She was initially fixed on the beautiful ornate shooting bow hanging on the wall, but her attention quickly shifted when she noticed that some of the other weapons mounted on the wall were within her reach. She got closer and picked up the golden and black revolver placed on the lower holder on the wall to have a better look at it. She examined it carefully, looking inside its barrel and even trying to pull the trigger on the unloaded display gun, believing that she had just discovered the cool toys grown-ups wanted to keep all to themselves. Maybe that’s what grandpa was getting her, she thought._

_Looking for different ones, Eleanor placed the gun she had in her hands back into its holder and turned around to search for something that could resemble a gift. That’s when she noticed a small black handgun sitting next to a box on top of the wooden table in one of the corners of the gun room._

_She made her way towards the table, getting on her tippy toes to be able to reach the black gun close to the edge of the table. It was a bit smaller than the one she had been previously holding and it was not as shiny, but Eleanor thought it still looked pretty cool._

_She stepped into the hallway while holding the gun, as she was sure that she had heard some familiar voices coming from outside and decided to follow them. As she was heading in the direction of the door that let through some sunlight through a window it had, one of Eleanor’s small fingers slipped and wrapped itself around the trigger and unlike last time, she watched a bullet shoot off of it, the opposite force of its exit making her body jolt backwards, and scaring her as the gun emitted the loudest sound Eleanor had ever heard in her life._

_The recoil of the unexpected shot made the bullet hit the floor, bounce into a wall and its shell come straight and hard at Eleanor’s face. In totally shock and pain, Eleanor let the black gun drop to the floor of the wooden and brick hallway. She felt paralyzed, not daring to move a single inch, her ears still ringing when she managed to distinguish the sound of her parents’ voice coming from outside._

* * *

When Fallon and Liam opened the door and Eleanor saw them, reality finally settled in, making her burst into tears immediately. Fallon spotted the black gun by Eleanor’s feet and instinctively, and within and matter of split seconds after, she reached for it, pointed it down and checked if it was completely unloaded, which it wasn’t; her blood boiling as she realized that there were still bullets inside.

“Fuck no.” Fallon took out the two remaining bullets and in a fit of rage threw the gun and individual untouched cartridges into the large trash can by one of the doors.

Meanwhile, all Liam could think about was if Ellie was okay. As soon as Fallon picked up the gun, Liam dived into the floor on his knees, hurting his kneecaps as they hit it a little too hard, and pulled Eleanor into a tight hug.

“Why is that freaking door open?” Fallon yelled as the rest of the family gathered in the hallway, trying to see for themselves if Eleanor was fine.

“Are you okay, baby?” Liam scanned her body which seemed unharmed with the exception of the growing swelling on her face and right under her left eye.

“What are you doing here, Eleanor?” Blake said a bit too loud in a mix of anger and relief that his granddaughter was alright.

“Look at dad. It’s okay.” Liam said as Eleanor insisted on looking down. He held up her chin so he could see if it had hit her eye. “Come here.” he picked her up and wrapped his arms around her. “You’ll be fine, it’s okay…” he repeated still in shock himself, not feeling much other that Eleanor’s tight grip on his shirt.

“Who the hell left that door open?” Fallon looked around at all the people that had gathered in the hallway and yelled in tears. “I want to know! This is not okay!”

“Why was she here?” curious Cristal asked.

“That’s not important. She is fine…” Blake told his wife as Liam focused his entire attention on trying to comfort Ellie who was muzzled against his neck.

“She is not fine!” Fallon countered. “My baby just fired a gun! By accident! She could have shot herself!” Fallon broke down in tears and Liam adjusted his grip on Ellie so he could have a free arm to pull Fallon closer to them.

“It’s okay, Ellie, mom and dad are here now.” Liam kissed Fallon’s forehead as she threw her arms around both him and Ellie.

“You should have those doors locked…” Kirby told Blake and Cristal in a much calmer tone than Fallon’s. “It’s the basic rules of gun safety.”

“Yes, you should!” Fallon joined the discussion again. “And why was that gun even loaded? Huh?”

“Blake, she is right…” Cristal admitted. “This was our fault… We really need to fix this.”

“Fallon, we never had those doors locked! Ever! Not even when you were little!” Blake defended himself.

“And we all know how great at parenting you were!”

“Well, none of you fired a gun by accident!” Blake shouted at her, regretting it immediately.

“Well, I don’t care if you were lucky that we never handled the guns by ourselves when we were kids!” Fallon didn’t let his insensitive comments stop her. “This needs to be locked away if my children are gonna be in this house! Or we are never coming back! Write it down! Don’t you see what could have happened here?”

“Fal, calm down!” Liam gently grabbed her wrist and warned her, tears overflowing his eyes as he felt Eleanor’s body shake from the intense sobbing. “You are scaring her.”

“I’m sorry, baby…” Fallon wiped the tears on her face before turning her attention to the little girl still crying against her father. “Mom is really sorry…”

“Can you check her, please?” Liam asked Adam who watching from one of the corners of the hallway. “Her heart has been beating miles an hour since I held her, and I think something hit her face…”

“No worries. I will go get the medical kit from the kitchen!” Adam said and made his way upstairs.

“I’ll help!” Kirby followed behind him.

“I think we should all go upstairs anyway.” Alexis suggested nodding in Liam’s direction so he would follow the rest of the family. “It would be more comfortable for everyone…”

“Let me hold her!” Fallon stopped Liam and asked him; she tried to get Eleanor from Liam’s arms and watched her daughter hold on tighter unto her father’s neck, refusing to let her mother hold her. “It’s okay, baby, come to mama! C’mon, Ellie!”

“Don’t push it, Fal…” he whispered softly and rubbed Eleanor’s back in soothing circles. “It’s okay. You are okay.” Her daughter’s refusal for her love added to her already angry disposition and it made Fallon storm upstairs without another word.

“Fallon… I-”

“Don’t touch me!” Fallon said as Liam tried to reach for her arm once again as she was leaving.

The whole family gathered again in the manor’s ample living room, all reunited again, making the living room more chaotic than before as they were all still feeling a bit unsettled about what had just happened.

“Was that a gunshot?” Sam asked multiple people as they all progressively gathered in the living room and most of them didn’t bother to give him an answer.

“Eleanor shot a gun.” Alexis told Sam as she passed by him and in the bar’s direction, hoping to get herself a strong drink. “She really is her mother’s daughter.” She sneered, remembering the day Fallon shot the living room in anger.

“She-- what?” Sam gasped, his hand involuntarily reaching for his mouth in shock. “Is she hurt?” he rushed to Liam as he entered the living room carrying Eleanor behind a furious-looking Fallon.

Without really knowing what to do with herself, since Eleanor was rejecting her, Fallon watched her mother pouring herself a drink by the bar. Deciding impulsively to mimic her actions, Fallon didn’t waste a single second before she went for the bottle of their strongest gin.

“Fallon!” she heard Liam shout from across the room. “The baby.” Liam warned, nodding to Jack in Sam’s arms right by him. Remembering she couldn’t drink, Fallon looked at the bottle in her hand and in a mix of frustration with the anger still firing inside her, she threw it against the floor, glass shattering and liquid spilling everywhere. Fallon sighed of relief before she processed what she had done, becoming so ashamed by it that she had to escape to her bedroom upstairs. “Fallon!” Liam shouted again as the whole family just silently watched her leave.

“I’m gonna talk to her!” Blake said as Fallon was out of sight.

“No, no. Let me…” Liam sighed. “Ellie, baby…” he whispered to her softly as he kept hearing her hiccups against his ear. “Can you stay here with grandma, uncle Sam and aunt Kirby for a bit?” Eleanor raised her head from his shoulder, her whole face red. “Dad needs to check if mom is okay. She is pretty scared too… I will be right back, okay?” Liam kissed her swollen face before he sat her down in Alexis’s lap on the couch. “Adam… Can you…?” Liam gestured to Eleanor.

“Can I just check on you?” Adam knelt by Alexis and tried to take a look at Eleanor’s face.

“Grandma will get you candy and more ice cream after, okay?” Alexis pushed the little girl’s messy hair away from her face and kissed her temple as she whined.

“Let uncle Adam check if you are hurt, baby…” Liam felt so bad for leaving her like that, but he had a feeling Fallon was probably needing him more at the moment. “Dad will be back really soon.”

Liam rushed to the room he knew Fallon was most likely in. When he pushed the door open, Liam saw his wife sitting on the edge of the bed and sobbing into her hands uncontrollably. “Fal…” his heart sank, the tears coming back to his eyes right away. Fallon got up as soon as she heard his voice, their eyes locking for a second. “Come here…” he opened his arms and Fallon quickly fell into them, her fingers gripping tightly to the back of his shirt.

“She could have died, Liam.” Fallon barely managed to say.

“I know.” It was all Liam could say. He wiped the tears running down his face and kept stroking her hair.

“She could have died because we weren’t paying attention.”

“And because we have a room full of guns downstairs…” Liam said seriously, trying to focus on the main problem there. He was mad about it too. Everyone knew they had small children in the house and the bare minimum they could have done was locking the guns away. “Loaded guns.”

“Our baby… could be hurt… or gone.” Fallon kept sobbing as she kept imagining the worst.

“I know…” Liam repeated, lost in his own thoughts. “I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”

“It’s all I can think about.” Fallon admitted, pulling away from his chest to look him in the eyes. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Liam leaned in for a long, breathy kiss, both their hearts finally feeling slightly more relaxed. “She is okay.” He added as he broke the kiss. “She is scared but she is okay. She will be fine.”

“This shouldn’t have happened in the first place.” Fallon dried her face and regained the strength in her words. “She should have never held, let alone, fire that thing!” she shook her head, still in disbelief. “I could have never forgiven myself if something had happened to her.”

“But nothing happened, Fal.” He held her face in his hands. “Look at me. Right now, she doesn’t need you freaking out. She needs you calm and rational. She needs to feel safe around her mom, Fallon…” Fallon closed her eyes. It was hard. Motherhood was harder than she ever expected it to be. She wanted to be strong for Ellie, but she was also so scared.

“I knew it was a matter of time before I screwed up big time… This is it.”

“You didn’t screw up.” Liam said seriously. He blamed himself too, but he knew that wouldn’t help the situation in any way. “It was an accident, Fallon. I understand you are scared. I am too. One of the scariest days of our lives.” He said as he remembered the other one: the day Jack was born. He knew Fallon would too. “But I need you to calm yourself down, put on a brave face and go downstairs to be with Ellie.” Fallon wiped the tears off her face one last time and took a deep breath, focusing on looking somehow calm.

“She won’t even let me touch her, Liam…”

“She freaked out when she saw you screaming at everyone. I understand why you did it. Believe me… But that can’t happen again.”

“I didn’t know those rooms weren’t locked. I thought they were locked.” Fallon said in front of the mirror as she fixed her dress and made sure her make up wasn’t too bad.

“That’s something we will figure out later. Right now, our baby needs us. C’mon.” he held out his hand and Fallon took it right away. They were going to fix it. Together.

“We are leaving.” Fallon announced, walking into the living room, chin up, confident, her words sharp like nothing had just happened. “Sunday fun day is over.”

“C’mon, Fallon…” Blake rolled his eyes. “She is fine.”

“Yeah, she is just fine, a bit in shock, but she will be fine.” Adam corroborated. “The cartridge must have hit her face when--…” Adam stopped himself from bringing up what had just happened again. “It will be a little bruised, but it’s nothing a little ice and time won’t take care of.” He patted Eleanor’s back. “She is will be back to drive us all insane pretty soon.”

“No, she won’t.” Fallon said in a deep somber tone. “We won’t be coming back any time soon.” Fallon squatted next to Alexis who still had her granddaughter on her lap. “I’m sorry I screamed, baby… Mom was also very scared and got a little too worked up. Do you forgive me?” Ellie silently nodded her head and reached her arms out for Fallon to hold her which Fallon did gladly right away. Now, more than ever. “Let’s go home…”

“Please, don’t go…” Sam said as Liam took Jack from him.

“It has been an intense day.” Fallon explained as she carefully examined the swollen spot right under Eleanor’s eye. “We are going home to rest… Take care of ourselves.”

“C’mon…” Blake got closer to Fallon to try to reason with her. “You usually stay until 5…”

“We are going home.” Liam said sternly, backing up his wife. “We will talk to you later. Ellie, say goodbye.” The entire family swarmed around Fallon to kiss Eleanor goodbye and then did the same to Jack, like they always do before The Ridleys leave every Sunday.

* * *

“Can this day just end, please?” Fallon sighed as Jack threw his head back and kicked as she tried to get him to take the bottle.

“Do you need help?” Liam was about to slip into bed right next to Fallon when he noticed the baby fighting her.

“No, he is just tired. I think?” Fallon was exhausted, and now on top of that, worried that Jack wasn’t taking the bottle and she needed to go back to work the next day. “It has been a long day for everyone. I just want to sleep…”

“Let me hold him for a while…” Liam held out his arms and even if Fallon was a little hesitant about giving up already, she reminded herself of their talk at lunch and let Liam take over. “Maybe he just needs to calm down a little… Huh, buddy…” Liam gave Jack his pacifier, his baby blanket and walked around the room, the baby snuggling against his warm bare chest right away. “It’s okay, we are all a bit of a mess today… But tonight,” Liam locked eyes with his son as he talked to him and continued to walk around the room. “Tonight, you’re not using mom’s boobs as teethers because, guess what, we have a bunch of great, expensive, teethers that I’m sure you will love…” Jack looked up at him, probably clueless about all Liam had just said. “Let dad see those shark teeth coming through…” he tried to feel the baby’s bottom gum. “Oh. Ouchie.” He pretended to be hurt by Jack’s bite on his finger, getting a good laugh out of the baby.

“You are such a dork…” Fallon shook her head, a big tired grin on her face.

“Guess what else?” he widened his eyes; Jack following all his exaggerated expressions attentively. “You are sleeping in your own bed! That’s right…” he smiled down at the confused baby and kissed his forehead. “And you are more than ready for bed…”

“But before that… time to eat…” Fallon handed Liam the bottle and Liam sat down next to her in bed to feed Jack. “Thank you…” she whispered. “For everything but honestly for remaining calm when I couldn’t, and for everything that you do for our family… I know I can be a little too controlling sometimes.”

“Yeah, we need to work on that.” Liam leaned over to steal a kiss from her. “And… Fal, I don’t want the kids at the Manor until we figure out the gun situation.”

“Of course.”

“I just don’t feel comfortable after what happened today. A house full of adults and that still happened. We will talk about it with your dad but… Until then, no more manor for Ellie and Jack.”

“I think we should take her to see a psychologist.” Fallon looked down and played with her wedding band. “I don’t want to let it slide. As a child I saw a lot of things that were left unspoken, and I don’t want that for Ellie. I want her to understand what happened and I want to help her move forward… in a healthy way…” 

“I think that’s an excellent idea…” Liam replied softly and waited for a while before his next suggestion. “Perhaps it would be good for you to see one too. Don’t you think?”

“You might be right.” Liam never expected Fallon to take it so well, especially considering the amount of fights they had had about her mental health since Jack had been born. “I think it’s long overdue.” Liam showed a reassuring smile and pulled the empty bottle from between Jack’s lips.

"I'm really happy for you, Fal. That's a good thing."

“Did he fall asleep?”

“He did.” They both sighed of relief at the same time. That felt like a victory at the end of a really long day. Liam got up slowly to avoid disturbing the baby. “I’m gonna put him in his room before he wakes up… and come back to bed, so we can… sleep?” he smirked, noticing how her eyes drifted between his flexed arm holding the baby and the portion of his abs Jack's body was not covering up.

“Just… Hurry up.”

Liam effortlessly zipped Jack into his sleeping sack and checked if the baby monitor was on before going back to the master room, where his wife was mostly certainly already waiting for him.

“I found this one on my way back.” Liam said walking in the room, holding Eleanor’s hand. “I thought we could make an exception and let her sleep with us tonight…” Liam didn’t have the heart to go tuck her in again in own bed after she woke up from a nightmare. Especially after all that happened that day. Fallon immediately redid the pajama shirt buttons she had undone after Liam left and grabbed one of her own pillows, setting it between her other ones and Liam’s.

“Come here…” Fallon patted the bed while she exchanged concerned looks with Liam. “We love you…” Fallon stroked the little girl’s as she laid her head on the pillow between her parents and closed her eyes. Both Fallon and Liam just stared at her in silence until they watched her chest rise in a constant peaceful motion and she was finally asleep.

“Guess we are separated by an Ellie-wall, now.” Liam broke the silence with an attempt at a joke, at which Fallon just rolled her eyes in amusement.

**Author's Note:**

> Congrats if you got to the end of that. I appreciate it. Hope you liked it!


End file.
